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"My approach to intervention is rooted in respect for child development and focuses on making the mundane meaningful, looking at daily interactions as opportunities for learning and growth while respecting the uniqueness of the individual and family. It’s about setting high expectations for long term quality of life and relationships for individuals on the spectrum and implementing a specific and doable plan to get there one step at a time.” – Lauren Wilson, LCSW, RDI® Program Certified Consultant

Wednesday, September 21, 2011

The Social Brain and ASD

"The discovery of distinctive brain activity patterns for individuals with ASDs and their siblings has great potential to advance autism research and clinical practice. By looking at the functioning of socially- activated regions of the brain, we may be able to tell who does and does not have ASD. We may also be able to tell who seems fine but carries (and perhaps overcame) genetic risk for ASD. There may come a time when a diagnosis of ASD -- and even a measure of its severity -- is based not just on observation of external behavior but on this "neural signature." In addition, new treatments focused on social deficits may intentionally target activation of crucial brain regions, while the effectiveness of older treatments might be measured by how activation of the social brain changes over time."

It has certainly been my experience that as children on the spectrum are given the opportunity to make those important neural connections make true progress in remediation.